Why are Trump supporters claiming Google data is exposing DC corruption?
Supporters of United States President Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” movement have latched onto a spike in the popularity of Google searches for “criminal defense lawyer” and other crime-related terms in Washington, DC. MAGA followers have claimed that the Google data shows that a corrupt elite in the US capital are afraid of being arrested and prosecuted under Trump’s new administration. “PANIC IN DC: Google searches explode for: – Criminal defense lawyer – RICO law – Swiss bank – Offshore bank – Wire money – IBAN – Statute of limitations,” the MAGA-linked X account Libs Of TikTok posted to its more than four million followers on Sunday. The post, accompanied by screenshots of search terms on Google Trends, has been shared more than 16,000 times, attracted more than 65,000 “likes”, and received some 1.9 million views on X. PANIC IN DC: Google searches explode for: – Criminal defense lawyer– RICO law– Swiss bank– Offshore bank– Wire money– IBAN– Statute of limitations pic.twitter.com/UYtBiapWDw — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 16, 2025 Advertisement The Google Trends data has been amplified by numerous prominent MAGA figures to promote the narrative that DC elites are fearful of being exposed for their crimes. “The Beltway is in full panic mode,” Matt Gaetz, a close Trump ally and former Florida congressman, said on his show on the right-wing One America News Network on Wednesday, using a common expression for the political and social elite of Washington, DC. “Google search trends prove it, and the guilty are sweating bullets like they are auditioning for a mob flick,” Gaetz said. “Dumb criminals googling their crime,” conservative podcaster Josie Glabach, whose X account “Redheaded Libertarian” has more than 852,000 followers, posted on Sunday. While Google data does show a surge in the relative popularity of particular search terms, the truth is less clear-cut than what is being portrayed in MAGA circles. So what is actually going on in Washington, DC? What do the claims have to do with Trump’s efforts to cut government spending? The claims come as Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk are undertaking a sweeping review of the federal bureaucracy with the stated mission of rooting out waste, abuse and fraud. Some prominent MAGA figures, including Gaetz, have drawn a direct link between the Google data and Musk’s cost-cutting efforts via his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE has overseen the layoffs or resignations of tens of thousands of government employees and set in motion plans to dismiss potentially hundreds of thousands more. Over the past month, Musk’s task force has cut employees at most government agencies, including the Department of State, Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Advertisement Some federal employees are now suing the US government through unions like the American Federation of Government Employees. The cuts have reinforced many longstanding MAGA beliefs about corruption in the federal government. Many MAGA supporters subscribe to the idea of a “Deep State”, the conspiracy theory that the US government is run by a secretive cabal of officials that is unaccountable to the US president or Congress. As with other conspiracy theorists, MAGA supporters believe everything is “interconnected”, Mihaela Mihailescu, a PhD researcher at the University of Bath focused on the politics of the internet, told Al Jazeera. They believe that “Washington, DC, is in full-blown panic mode, with corrupt officials desperately searching for offshore bank accounts and legal loopholes as Trump ‘cleans house’”, Mihailescu said. “The claim that a sudden surge in Google searches for terms like ‘RICO law’ and ‘Swiss bank’ indicates a widespread exodus of corrupt bureaucrats is based on little more than speculation – never mind that we have zero evidence that these searches are even coming from DC insiders,” she added. A lack of evidence has been no obstacle to the spread of Deep State-related conspiracy theories in the past, including Q Anon and Pizzagate – which claimed, respectively, that Trump was secretly fighting a cabal of cannibalistic Satan worshippers and high-level members of the Democratic Party operated a child sex-trafficking ring out of a Washington pizzeria. Advertisement What do the Google Trends results actually show? Al Jazeera on Thursday carried out searches of the terms highlighted by “Libs of TikTok” on Google Trends and found a spike in certain phrases in the Washington, DC, area in the weeks surrounding Trump’s inauguration. Searches for “criminal defense lawyer”, “lawyer”, “RICO law”, “Swiss bank”, and “IBAN” all rose in popularity around this time. While these results indicate there was a surge in the relative popularity of certain searches, it is difficult to say much more than that due to the nature of Google Trends. According to Google, Google Trends takes a sample of aggregated search data to show what search terms are rising and falling in popularity during a particular period. Data is presented on a scale of 0-100, which lets users make an “apples to apples” comparison between searches in a certain place over a certain time period. The number 100 indicates a peak in popularity relative to other terms, but 0 does not necessarily mean there were zero searches, according to Google. What are the limitations of Google Trends? Google Trends is not scientific and should not be taken as a “perfect mirror of search activity”, according to the tech giant. “A spike in a particular topic does not reflect that a topic is somehow ‘popular’ or ‘winning,’ only that for some unspecified reason, there appear to be many users performing a search about a topic,” the Google Trends FAQ section states. One of the biggest limitations of Google Trends is that Google does not disclose absolute numbers, Wietze Beukema, a UK-based cyberthreat engineer, told Al Jazeera. Advertisement “Google Trends is a non-scientific tool provided by Google to give some high-level insights into search patterns. As
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events – day 1,092
Here are the key developments on the 1,092nd day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Here is the situation on Thursday, February 20: Fighting A man was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Belgorod region, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. A “massive” Russian attack on the port city of Odesa in southwestern Ukraine left four people hospitalised and a large residential area – covering 14 schools and about 160,000 residents – without heat, water or electricity, Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov said. A Russian guided bomb killed at least one person in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kupiansk, according to Kharkiv region’s Governor Oleh Syniehubov. Ukraine said Russia launched 167 drones and two missiles in overnight attacks. Ukrainian forces shot down 106 of those drones, while 56 more failed to reach their targets. They did not specify what happened to the remaining five. Ukraine’s military also said they destroyed a North Korean self-propelled M-1978 Koksan howitzer in the Luhansk region, marking the first time a weapon of this nature has been hit. South Korean newspaper, The Chosun Ilbo, has interviewed two North Korean soldiers detained in Ukraine. The pair revealed they were told they were being sent to Russia for training by the Reconnaissance General Bureau, North Korea’s clandestine operations intelligence agency. A man walks next to a building destroyed by a recent Russian air attack in the village of Novopavlivka, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, on February 18, 2025 [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters] Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that fighters from the 810th brigade crossed into Ukrainian territory in the Sumy region overnight. Kyiv has denied the claim. Putin also suggested a Ukrainian drone attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium in southern Russia may have been coordinated with European powers, saying Kyiv could not have carried out such an attack without Western intelligence. Kremlin forces are a little more than 4 miles (6.4km) from the Shevchenko lithium deposit in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, and are advancing on it from three angles, the Reuters news agency reported, citing open-source data from Ukrainian military blog DeepState. Politics and diplomacy Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised Kyiv’s exclusion from recent talks between Russia and the United States as he spoke to reporters at Esenboga airport in Ankara, Turkiye following his meeting with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Putin assured Ukraine it would not be left out of ceasefire talks, but said their success would hinge on resetting bilateral relations between Moscow and Washington, which reached “below zero” under the Biden administration. Zelenskyy took to social media to brand Russia’s leaders “pathological liars” and warned that “they cannot be trusted and must be pressured – for the sake of peace”. Trump hit back at Zelenskyy over his complaints about being excluded from peace talks, as he also blamed the Ukrainian leader for Russia’s invasion in 2022. “You’ve been there for three years,” Trump said. “You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.” Zelenskyy has also slammed the rare earth elements deal proposed by Trump, saying he is open to the US investing in Ukraine’s natural resources, but Kyiv should also receive security guarantees. He said Trump’s demand for $500bn of rare earths for previous US aid is “not a serious conversation”, claiming Washington has supplied Ukraine with only $67bn in weapons and $31.5bn in other financial support. Zelenskyy also rejected Trump’s claims about his approval ratings being at 4 percent, dismissing it as Russian disinformation and saying the US president is trapped in a “disinformation bubble”. Trump called Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections” and warned that the Ukrainian leader “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left”. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that Putin and Trump could meet in person before the end of February, according to Russian state media. Advertisement After speaking with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told European foreign ministers he believes Washington wants a lasting peace deal for Ukraine. Barrot said the White House’s “objective was not a fragile ceasefire or a transitional pause that would allow Russia to rebuild their forces, but a lasting peace”. Kazakhstan’s first Deputy Foreign Minister Akan Rakhmetullin said Astana has contacted Ukraine after a drone attack in Russia this week which hit a Kazakh oil pipeline. Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, travelled to Kyiv before planned meetings with Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials. “We’re very clear that [security guarantees are] important in the sovereignty of this nation,” Kellogg said, according to Ukrainian outlet Suspilne. The European Union has agreed on a new package of sanctions which would place a ban on importing Russian aluminium, the bloc’s diplomats said. The decision is yet to be formally approved by EU foreign ministers. Adblock test (Why?)
Putin rates US talks ‘highly’, says Russia ready to negotiate over Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he was briefed on the outcome of Russia-US talks in Saudi Arabia and was pleased with the results, according to Russian news agencies, amid soaring tensions between the US and Ukraine. “Yes, I have been informed. I rate them highly, there are results,” he was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency on Wednesday. “In my opinion, we made the first step to restore work in various areas of mutual interests”. United States and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for the first high-level talks between the two countries since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago. The meeting signified a dramatic policy shift by Washington, which imposed a raft of sanctions and worked to isolate Moscow on the world stage over the war. Ukraine and European governments were not invited to the talks in Riyadh, heightening their concern that Russia and the US might cut a deal that ignores their vital interests. Russian leader ‘would like to meet Trump’ Putin said that Ukraine was not being excluded from negotiations to end the war, but that his country needed to build trust with the United States in order to resolve the conflict. Advertisement “No one is excluding Ukraine,” Putin said in a televised meeting with journalists in Saint Petersburg, adding that there was no need for a “hysterical” reaction to the US-Russia talks. “It is impossible to solve many issues, including the Ukrainian crisis, without increasing the level of trust between Russia and the United States,” he said. He added that he would like to meet US President Donald Trump in person but that the meeting would need to be prepared. Putin also claimed Russia had never rejected talks with the Europeans, and it was they who had refused to talk to Moscow. “We are not imposing anything on anyone. We are ready, I have already said this a hundred times – if they want, please, let these negotiations take place. And we will be ready to return to the table for negotiations,” he said. While striking a conciliatory tone, Putin also suggested Europe may have coordinated a Ukrainian drone attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) in southern Russia on Monday. The strike hit a pumping station on the oil pipeline in Russia, reducing flows from Kazakhstan to world markets pumped by Western firms including Chevron and ExxonMobil. The Russian president said that he did not believe Ukraine to have organised such an attack on its own, and claimed it was likely backed by Western intelligence. Zelenskyy a ‘dictator without elections’ As Moscow and Washington reignited diplomatic ties, relations between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy deteriorated rapidly on Wednesday as the two leaders traded barbs. Advertisement Trump called Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” in comments posted on the social media app Truth Social. “Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” he added. The US president also accused the Ukrainian leader of wanting “to keep the ‘gravy train’ going” as Ukraine mismanages billions of dollars US funds for the war, half of which he claimed had gone “missing.” The comments came hours after Zelenskyy had said Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space” as a result of the talks in Riyadh. Trump earlier suggested Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s invasion. “You should have never started it. You could have made a deal. I could have made a deal for Ukraine,” the US president said at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Claims of ground offensive in Kursk rejected In his remarks, Putin also announced that Russian troops crossed into Ukraine from the Kursk region overnight and were advancing along the line of contact, near the border with Ukraine’s Sumy region. The claim was swiftly rejected by Andriy Kovalenko, a Ukrainian official responsible for countering disinformation. “Putin’s information about a large-scale Russian offensive is a lie,” he said, adding that a Russian reconnaissance unit had tried to cross but had been destroyed. A ground attack on Ukraine’s Sumy region would be the first since Russia retreated from there in 2022. Adblock test (Why?)
White House trolls with mocking ‘ASMR’ video of shackled deportees
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Official White House social media accounts posted what it called an ‘ASMR’ video of undocumented immigrant deportation.
Far right set to make strides in a German election dominated by immigration
Germans would be hard-pressed to find a time when their political landscape was as fragmented as it is days ahead of Sunday’s federal election. For the first time since World War II, Germany’s two traditional political locomotives are set to garner less than half the national vote. The ruling centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), expecting to tumble out of a four-year term in office – their shortest since the war – are polling at an embarrassing 16 percent, a post-war low. The once-dominant, centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), in power for 51 of the past 75 years, is in the lead, but with a diminished majority of about 30 percent, a few points below its weakest win to date in 2017, and a far cry from its Cold War election victories. The rise of smaller parties The ruling Social Democrats called the election after losing a coalition partner last autumn and a confidence vote in parliament last December. But the timing of Germany’s political upheaval could hardly be worse. Advertisement As the administration of US President Donald Trump offers Russia concessions in return for a speedy end to the Ukraine war, many in Europe are calling for a redesign of the continent’s security architecture, requiring strong governments to make momentous decisions on defence and foreign policy. More than half the German vote will go to smaller parties on the left and right. The lion’s share – about 20 percent – is to go to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), a party that promises to banish the euro and bring back the Deutschmark, reverse the transition to clean energy, throw out immigrants, and possibly take Germany out of the European Union altogether. “People are saying, it’s kind of the last chance for liberal democratic parties, and they are saying, make sure the next government is a functional government that produces results,” German retired diplomat Christian Schlaga told Al Jazeera. “The next government will have to prove they can do it, especially on immigration,” Schlaga said. “If they fail, like the last government, then people will say this is a basis to elect the AfD.” The CDU and SPD decline In their heyday, the 1960s and 1970s, the CDU and SPD together took about 90 percent of the popular vote, leaving little room for anyone else. That began to change in the late 1990s, as the German political landscape became more pluralistic. The left-wing Greens were founded in 1993, The Left (Die Linke) in 2007, and the AfD in 2013. All have eaten away at the CDU-SPD voter base. Advertisement “If [the CDU] score below 30 percent, it’s a defeat for the CDU,” Jens Bastian, an economist at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told Al Jazeera, adding that the situation is even more dire for the SPD. “We have only one party left that consider 30 percent a success… for the SPD, it’s a success if you get close to 20.” Why is immigration on the ballet? Immigration has rapidly become the number one issue during the election campaign, partly due to a series of deadly attacks perpetrated by foreign nationals in the past few months. A Saudi national killed six people and injured 200 when he ploughed a rented SUV into pedestrians at a Christmas market in the town of Magdeburg last December. Last month, on January 22, a mentally ill Afghan man wielding a knife killed a two-year-old boy and the 41-year-old man who was trying to protect him in a park in Aschaffenburg, near Frankfurt. Last week, on February 13, another Afghan asylum seeker killed a 37-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter when he ploughed a car into a trade union protest march in Munich. These and earlier attacks have inflamed German indignation against immigrants who are ineligible to stay in Germany but haven’t been deported, or who have not integrated with German society and values. The AfD is openly calling for large numbers of immigrants to be deported, including legal residents and even citizens, much as the Trump administration has said it will do in the US. CDU leader Friedrich Merz has called for a strengthening of border controls, increasing police powers to arrest people and slowing or stopping family reunification for migrants already in the country legally. Advertisement The SPD and Greens have refused to work with Merz on this agenda, saying it plays into the hands of the far right. What about the economy and unemployment? Germans also perceive their infrastructure to be crumbling after years of underinvestment, particularly railways and bridges, but are wary of relaxing their constitutional requirement for a balanced budget, fearing it will lead to uncontrolled spending. Some observers believe German society is unprepared for the difficult economic decisions ahead. “Unions demand an eight percent increase in salaries and three more days of holiday in a country where workers already have six weeks off a year,” said Schlaga. “This does not reflect the realities of the day and people don’t accept that.” Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of SPD, has said he is in favour of relaxing fiscal rules to spend more on stimulating the economy and on defence, but Merz has shown a reluctance to borrow more or to raise taxes. The Ukraine war has raised energy costs and caused inflation in Germany as everywhere else in Europe, but it has hurt the manufacturing and industrial German economic base particularly badly. The German economy is expected to contract by 0.5 percent in 2025, said the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, marking its third annual shrinkage in a row, its longest postwar recession. “This is a turning point and emphasises the acute need for action,” said Helena Melnikov, the chamber’s managing director. That has had knock-on effects. The VDP banking association this month estimated property prices had fallen by 5.4 percent last year, rounding a four-year ebb. Advertisement A recent survey showed that 70 percent of Germans were worried about the cost of living, and a similar margin
US condemns ‘dangerous’ moves by Chinese navy helicopter in South China Sea
Manila says it will lodge a diplomatic protest after a Chinese helicopter flew deliberately within 3 metres (10 feet) of a Philippine aircraft. The United States ambassador to Manila has condemned “dangerous” manoeuvres by a Chinese navy helicopter that threatened the safety of a Philippine government aircraft patrolling a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. In a post on social media on Wednesday, US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson condemned the actions of the Chinese helicopter and called on Beijing “to refrain from coercive actions and settle its disputes peacefully in accordance with international law”. The Philippines said late on Tuesday that it was “deeply disturbed” by the Chinese navy’s “unprofessional and reckless” flight actions and that it would make a diplomatic protest. The Philippine Coast Guard reported that the Chinese helicopter had flown within 3 metres (10 feet) of a surveillance flight carrying a group of journalists. The plane had been flying about 213 metres (700 feet) above the water on a mission to observe Chinese vessels around the contested Scarborough Shoal when it was intercepted by the naval helicopter. Advertisement Journalists and other invited foreign media onboard the plane witnessed the tense 30-minute standoff as the Philippine aircraft pressed on with its low-altitude patrol around Scarborough, with the Chinese navy helicopter hovering close above it or flying to its left in cloudy weather. The risky moves prompted the Filipino pilot to warn the Chinese pilot by radio: “You are flying too close; you are very dangerous and endangering the lives of our crew and passengers”. “Keep away and distance your aircraft from us. You are violating the safety standard,” the Philippine pilot said. WATCH: A Chinese Navy helicopter came as close as 3 meters to a Philippine fisheries bureau plane over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, making dangerous maneuvers and shadowing the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources plane for about 40 minutes. The Inquirer was onboard the BFAR… pic.twitter.com/VcVfs8MpTN — Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) February 18, 2025 Philippine media outlet Inquirer.Net said that during the flight, the pilot of the aircraft operated by the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources issued at least 19 radio challenges to the Chinese helicopter and Chinese ships in the disputed area. The media outlet described a dangerous game of “hide-and-seek in the sky” with the helicopter suddenly emerging and manoeuvring to place itself as close as 3 metres (9.8 feet) above the plane – a 12-seater Cessna Caravan. China has disputed the Philippines’s account, saying on Tuesday that Manila’s aircraft had “illegally intruded” into China’s airspace and accused the Philippines of “spreading false narratives”. Advertisement The Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries said in a statement that they remain “committed to asserting our sovereignty, sovereign rights and maritime jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea, despite the aggressive and escalatory actions of China”. Named after a British ship that was grounded on the atoll nearly three centuries ago, the Scarborough Shoal is one of the most contested maritime features in the South China Sea, where Beijing and Manila have clashed repeatedly. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a vital waterway that puts Beijing at odds with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam who all have maritime claims in the area. A 2016 arbitration ruling invalidated China’s expansive claim but Beijing does not recognise the decision. Adblock test (Why?)
Can new Africa Energy Bank power a continent while protecting the planet?
A group of African countries is set to launch a bank to fund oil and gas projects amid growing reluctance by Western institutions to further invest in fossil fuels. The long-planned “Africa Energy Bank” that is expected to take off soon was announced last June as a joint initiative by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) – a group of 18 oil-exporting nations. The bank aims to lift growth by boosting Africa’s energy supply. Its founders consider it a lifeline in a continent rich with natural resources, but where millions of people still lack access to electricity. However, climate activists have questioned the logic of doubling down on fossil fuels. In addition, oil and gas projects built today have a high probability of becoming unusable “stranded assets”, leading to costly debt on countries’ balance sheets in the future as the world transitions to low-carbon alternatives. To provide for the material power needs of Africans while also protecting the planet, experts say a balance is needed. Climate activists hold placards as they demonstrate, calling for climate justice resistance against oil and gas drilling off the South African coastlines [File: Esa Alexander/Reuters] Caught between a rock and a hard place Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, hundreds of countries pledged to hold global temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. Since then, governments and companies – including in Africa – have faced increased pressure to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. Advertisement The World Bank stopped financing oil and gas extraction in 2019. In 2022, Shell suspended marine exploration activity off the coast of South Africa after a High Court ordered it to pause work due to successful legal challenges from environmental campaigners. At the time, Happy Khambule, a senior campaigner for Greenpeace Africa, said, “We must do everything we can to undo the destructive colonial legacy of extractivism, until we live in a world where people and the planet come before the profits of toxic fossil fuel companies.” For his part, Omar Farouk Ibrahim, secretary-general of APPO, has said there is a “need to strike the right balance between the imperatives of climate change mitigation and the need to avoid social upheaval that could result from difficult economic and financial conditions in Africa”. Indeed, Africa’s energy needs are immense. The number of sub-Saharan Africans without access to electricity has risen in recent years. As population growth outpaced new energy supply in 2023, 600 million people (43 percent of the continent) were left in the dark, according to the International Energy Agency. While estimates vary, electricity supply would need to increase fivefold to support large-scale industrial activity and help lift the majority of Africans – one-third of whom live on less than $1.90 a day – out of poverty. On a per capita basis, Africa has the lowest level of modern energy usage in the world. At an economy-wide level, it also lags behind. Globally, manufacturing makes up 42.2 percent of total power consumption. In Africa, it’s just 16.8 percent. Advertisement APPO head Ibrahim says the Africa Energy Bank is the result of Western countries’ “abandon[ing] hydrocarbons” so that “the leaders of the continent have no choice but to look within to raise the required funds to sustain and grow the [energy] industry”. Employees drive past Africa’s largest methanol plant at Punta Europa in Equatorial Guinea [File: Pascal Fletcher/Reuters] The Africa Energy Bank will be headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. On February 11, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Heineken Lokpobiri told reporters that “the building is ready, and we are only putting finishing touches to it, by the end of this quarter [end of March], this bank will take off.” Countries involved in the Africa Energy Bank include Nigeria, Angola and Libya, among others. Planned projects are expected to range from offshore oil exploration to new gas-fired power plants. Each country has pledged $83m and to raise a total amount of $1.5bn. That will be complemented by $14bn from the Afreximbank, a trade credit organisation. Over the next five years, Lokpobiri said that the Africa Energy Bank is hoping to secure $120bn in assets. Additional funding will likely come from sovereign wealth funds, commodity traders and international banks interested in acquiring equity. Africa’s context is ‘different’ Many African leaders recognise the need for rapid industrial development and balk at restrictions from Western financial backers, whose rules increasingly bar them from traditional energy projects. Advertisement Arkebe Oqubay, a former adviser to Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, insists that “Africa’s context is totally different from elsewhere because its economic resources have not been fully developed. At the same time, it’s made a minimal contribution to climate change.” Africa is responsible for just 4 percent of global carbon emissions and even less on a historical basis. It also suffers disproportionately from the effects of extreme weather events. “The moral imperative to cut emissions is not as present in Africa,” said Oqubay. He told Al Jazeera that, “[these] are countries at a development stage where you cannot suddenly move into the green transition … You cannot just say funding is cut and they cannot commit to oil and gas”. The African Energy Chamber, an advocacy group, has also argued that Africa has a “sovereign right” to develop its natural resources, which, according to the group, includes 125 billion barrels of oil and 620 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. “Until [renewable energy] funding becomes more readily available, African countries are entitled to expand their oil and gas capabilities … and the international community does not have the right to say we cannot do this,” said Oqubay. “But to be clear, fossil fuels are not the future,” he said. ‘Huge’ renewable energy potential Africa’s energy shortages are a “development constraint”, said Fadhel Kaboub, an associate professor of economics at Denison University in the United States. Africa’s subdued power sector limits the production of fertiliser, steel and cement – hallmarks of economic development. Advertisement The continent’s inability to
Trump, Musk lavish each other with praise as they defend cost-cutting drive
US president claims DOGE will save hundreds of billions of dollars without cutting healthcare and welfare benefits. United States President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk have defended their sweeping cost-cutting drive in a joint interview in which the two men lavished each other with praise. In an interview with Fox News that aired on Tuesday, Trump said he had tapped Musk to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as he wanted someone “really smart” to work with. “I respect him; I have always respected him. I never knew that he was right on certain things, and I am usually pretty good at this stuff. He did Starlink, he did things that were so advanced and nobody knew what the hell they were,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity, referring to Musk’s satellite internet service. Trump said that Musk and his “100 geniuses” were ensuring his executive orders got implemented to avoid the experience of past administrations that were frustrated by bureaucracy. “He has got some very brilliant young people working for him that dress much worse than him actually. They dress in just t-shirts; you wouldn’t know they have 180 IQ,” Trump said, praising Musk as a “leader” who “gets it done”. Advertisement Musk, in turn, showered Trump with praise. “I love the president. I want to be clear about that,” Musk said. “I think that President Trump is a good man.” “The president has been so unfairly attacked in the media – it’s really outrageous,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO continued. “At this point, I have spent a lot of time with the president, and not once have I seen him do something that was mean or cruel or wrong. Not once.” The two men also mocked suggestions by some critics that Musk had usurped Trump’s authority as president. “Actually, Elon called me. He said, ‘You know they are trying to drive us apart.’ I said, ‘Absolutely,’” Trump said. “You know, they said, ‘We have breaking news. Donald Trump has ceded control of the presidency to Elon Musk. President Musk will be attending a Cabinet meeting tonight at eight o’clock.’ And I said, ‘It’s just so obvious.’ People are smart, they get it.” Musk’s DOGE has overseen the laying off of about 20,000 federal government employees so far and earmarked some 200,000 more for dismissal. Critics have accused Musk of acting without legal authority, cutting government functions haphazardly without proper consideration and jeopardising Americans’ privacy by seeking access to sensitive data such as taxpayer information. Concerns have also been raised about the South African-born billionaire’s influence over the government given that he does not hold elected office. In Tuesday’s interview, Trump claimed that DOGE would be able to find “hundreds of billions” of dollars in savings without making cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits despite those programmes making up nearly half of government spending. Advertisement “It’s going to be strengthened – but won’t be touched. Medicare, Medicaid – none of that stuff is going to be touched,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump’s Ukraine policy shift: How are European leaders planning to respond?
United States President Donald Trump’s plan to cut a deal with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over Ukraine and his administration’s new approach to transatlantic ties have left European leaders concerned. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday held a meeting with a Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The meeting in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh comes after Trump spoke to Putin last week and agreed to hold peace talks to end the three-year conflict without involving his European allies. Trump also said that he might meet Putin in Saudi Arabia. This has sparked concern among European leaders and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has warned that Kyiv would not recognise any deal made without its involvement. “No decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine … Europe must have a seat at the table when decisions about Europe are being made,” Zelenskyy said at the Munich Security Conference this weekend. So what’s the Trump administration’s new approach, and how will Europe respond to the new reality? Advertisement What’s on the agenda at US-Russia talks in Riyadh? Rubio, alongside national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, has held talks with the Russian delegation led by Lavrov. Along with aiming to reset the fractured relations between Washington and Moscow, the Riyadh talks may likely prepare for a possible meeting between Trump and Putin. The talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, would be “primarily devoted to restoring the whole complex of Russian-American relations”. “The world is holding its breath as the meeting between these high-ranking officials in Riyadh has started,” Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova said, adding that no breakthrough is expected. “The settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, as well as improving Russia-US bilateral relations – which have hit rock bottom – are on the agenda,” she said, reporting from Moscow. Why are Europe and Ukraine concerned about not being invited to the Riyadh summit? Zelenskyy, who travelled to the United Arab Emirates on Monday, reiterated that he would not accept any decisions between the US and Russia about Ukraine. European leaders have also expressed their concerns about the exclusion of Europe and Ukraine from the discussions, and have expressed that they want to be part of the negotiations. “A dictated peace will therefore never find our support,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz over the weekend after Trump’s unilateral overture to Putin on Wednesday. Trump later told reporters that Zelenskyy will be involved in the negotiations, without giving further explanation. Keith Kellogg, the US envoy for Ukraine, also tried to reassure that no deal would be imposed on Ukraine. Advertisement Kellogg is heading to Kyiv on a three-day visit. Kyiv, which has lost nearly 20 percent of its territory and thousands of lives, would like to have a deal that addresses its legitimate security concerns. “We seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine. To achieve this, Russia must end its aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians,” France’s President Emmanuel Macron posted on X a day after he hosted European leaders in Paris. European leaders are concerned “because neither Ukraine nor Europe is represented. And they think Trump will sell Ukraine down the river,” Timothy Ash, an associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia programme at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera. “They fear a similar outcome as per Trump’s messaging on Gaza – he simply does not care,” Ash said, referring to Trump’s proposal to “take over” Gaza after displacing Palestinians, which would amount to ethnic cleansing and a war crime. How are European leaders responding to Trump’s policy shift on Ukraine and transatlantic ties? European leaders have been left scrambling for responses after the new Trump administration upended the US’s Ukraine policy for the past three years and put forth proposals that will change the dynamics of the transatlantic alliance in place since 1949. On Sunday, Kellogg, Trump’s envoy for Ukraine, announced that Europe would not be at the table for Ukraine peace negotiations. Last week, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for Ukraine was “unrealistic”. In line with Trump’s rhetoric that Europe should increase its spending on NATO, Hegseth indicated that Europe should ramp up its financial and military responsibilities in Ukraine. He also ruled out deployment of US troops in Ukraine after any deal is signed with Russia. US Vice President JD Vance reiterated the same point: Brussels should “step up in a big way to provide for its own defence”. Advertisement Stung by the tone and messaging from Trump’s top aides, European leaders on Monday gathered in Paris to devise their next steps. Macron was joined by leaders from Germany, Denmark, Poland, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, alongside officials from NATO and the European Union. “Ready and willing,” NATO chief Mark Rutte posted on X on Monday. European nations have stepped up their contribution to Kyiv in recent years, providing nearly $140bn in Ukraine aid, more than the US, which has spent about $120bn since the war erupted in February 2022. Ash from the Chatham House explained that Europe is “realising the US is an unreliable partner”, as Trump’s overture to Putin is being seen by some as a betrayal by a key ally. Europe’s main fear is Russian aggression beyond Ukraine, as Washington has been Europe’s security guarantor for decades through the NATO alliance. But Trump has been demanding that Europe shoulder more responsibility for its security. According to media reports, the US wants to pull out some of its troops from Europe. In 2014, NATO member states pledged to contribute at least two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) to defence, but more than 10 years later, only 23 of the 32 members have honoured their commitment. Trump wants them to increase defence spending to five percent of GDP. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday posted
Hamas to release six Israeli captives, hand over four bodies this week
Hamas will release six Israeli captives and hand over the bodies of four others this week as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, the group’s leader in the enclave said. Khalil al-Hayya, head of the Palestinian group in Gaza said the handover of the bodies will take place in Gaza on Thursday and that six living Israeli captives will be released on Saturday. “Hamas has proven, along with the resistance, its seriousness in implementing the agreement with full responsibility,” he said on Tuesday. “We stress the need to oblige the occupation to implement all provisions of the agreement without procrastination. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that talks in Egypt resulted in an agreement on the release of six living Israeli captives on Saturday as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal with Hamas. Israel will also receive the bodies of four dead captives on Thursday, before another four bodies later next week, the statement said. The first phase of the Gaza truce, which was brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, is due to expire on March 1. Negotiations on the next stages, including a permanent end to the war, have not yet begun. Advertisement Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said the releases could be a major development regarding negotiations on phase two of the ceasefire. “Hamas said they are doing this because they want the second phase to take place. The Israelis have been asking for this for about a week now, saying they want the bodies of some captives to be released sooner than the end of phase one,” she said. Al-Hayya said that the bodies of members of the Bibas family would be among those handed over on Thursday. In November 2023, Hamas announced the family was killed in an Israeli air strike. Husband and father Yarden Bibas was released last month as part of phase one of the ceasefire deal. There was no immediate comment from Israel regarding the identity of the deceased captives. “The Israeli military had said they had great concerns over the fate of the mother and her two children, but did not confirm whether they were killed. Hamas now confirms they will be releasing the bodies,” Al Jazeera’s Salhut said. Former director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry Alon Liel, pointed out that Hamas returning bodies of the Israeli captives to the Red Cross, “could have a devastating effect on the Israeli public.” He said it would be a day of mourning in Israel which would shock the people. “But it is still better than getting nothing from Hamas. We would love to have all the living hostages and the bodies back in Israel as soon as possible,” Liel said. Israel seeks ‘maximum flexibility’ in talks Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal in Gaza on January 19, after more than 460 days of a war that has devastated the Palestinian territory. Advertisement However, Israel has violated the ceasefire in Gaza 266 times, killing at least 132 people, Palestinian security sources told Al Jazeera on Tuesday. Since the ceasefire took effect, Israeli leaders have also discussed the possibility of an imminent return to fighting in Gaza, with far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet pushing for a military occupation of the enclave, while US President Donald Trump has called for the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera, said Israel is looking for “maximum flexibility” in advance of potential talks over the second phase of the truce deal with Hamas. “On the one hand, there are whispers that at least some in the Israeli government want to move to phase two of the Gaza ceasefire and [US President] Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy said he is confident there will be a phase two. All of that seems to be positive,” Elmasry said. “On the other hand, Israel and the US are in a way talking from both sides of their mouth because they’re still talking about the complete eradication of Hamas and Trump’s forced expulsion and ethnic cleansing plan for Gaza,” Elmasry added. On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel will begin negotiations “this week” on the second phase of the ceasefire deal in Gaza. “We had yesterday night a security cabinet meeting. We decided to open negotiations on the second phase. It will happen this week,” Saar said of the talks, which were originally supposed to start on February 3. Advertisement He added that Israel demands “a total demilitarisation of Gaza and no presence of the Palestinian Authority”. Adblock test (Why?)